Payments and mobile are the next ‘gamer changers’ in financial services according to live polling of chief decision makers at FST Media’s Technology and Innovation – the Future of Banking & Financial Services conference in Singapore this week.

When asked what will shape the industry in the year ahead, both mobile and payments technology rated first with 35 per cent of the votes each. Big Data and analytics came in second, with 23 per cent of the votes. Cloud computing and online developments received just 3.5 per cent respecitvely.

In response to the question, “what do you see as the key drivers for productivity improvements in your organisation”, an overwhelming 60 per cent of respondants indicated that streamlining business processes, better analysis and measuring effectiveness as their main focus. Investment in mobility scored the second-highest at 29 per cent, with “better employee lifecycle management” third at eight per cent. Cost effectiveness through the increased use of Cloud-based solutions received just two per cent of the votes.

The biggest IT challenge facing financial services is implementing cost-effective technologies, with 36 per cent of executives polled placing that as a greater concern than enhancing the end-user experience (at 34 per cent). Following that was “getting buy-in from management for new projects” (at 14 per cent), keeping abreast of the latest technologies (at 12 per cent) and dealing with IT glitches (at four per cent).

With access to vast amounts of real-time data, financial services organisations are also realising the range of benefits from enhanced analysis. Identifying the needs of the customer base was ranked as the most valuable use of real-time data management tools (at 45 per cent). Next was the ability to predict future consumer behaviour and create customised service offerings (at 31 per cent) and provide customers with access to real-time financial information (at 18 per cent).